House hunting on the move

14 September 2012

Growing trend of searching for properties on your phone

Last month, at the tender age of not-quite-two, our mobile website - m.espc.com - celebrated receiving its one millionth visit. It was also the busiest month in the site's young life as it received over 75,000 visits generating more than a million page views.

Driving changes

The rise in the number of house hunters looking for their next home online using mobile devices over the last couple of years has been remarkable.

Traffic to the mobile website itself is almost four times higher than when it launched back in 2010.

On top of that roughly one in six people who come to our main desktop site now are using a mobile device.

Smart technology

The launch of tablets like the iPad and the proliferation of touchscreen smartphones has made it easier than ever for people to search for homes when they're on the move.

Many properties now have QR codes on their for sale boards so if you see a property you're interested in when you're out and about you can quickly scan it with a smartphone to get more information on property particulars and viewing details.

MyESPC account holders can even receive email alerts on new properties matching their search criteria coming onto the market direct to their smartphone so they can act quickly if they see their dream home become available for sale.

ESPC keeping mobile

We've already started work on developing a new mobile website which we'll be launching early next year. Rather than build multiple apps for different devices we're focussing on building one great site that will work just as well regardless of what make and model of mobile or tablet you're using.

Similar to when we redeveloped our main desktop site we're putting you, the user, at the heart of the process to create something that gives you a quicker, smarter, easier way to search for property.

House hunters will be able to use the site to do everything from managing saved searches and getting the latest market information to accessing Home Reports and arranging viewings.

The importance of mobile browsing in the property market is only going to grow in the months and years ahead so it's an area where we're committed to delivering the best possible experience for both buyers and sellers. You can start house hunting while you're on the move today by visiting espc.com/tablet.

Our public beta mobile site will go live by Christmas so watch out for it during the festive season!